In military aircraft there are radar systems that require diagnostics and debugging from time to time to ensure their proper operation. One example is radar used by the F/A-18 military aircraft. In the F/A-18 aircraft AN/APG-65 or AN/APG-73 radar receiver calibration data may be accessed by removing the radar hardware from the aircraft and transporting it to one of the radar benches located at quite a distance from the aircraft's duty station (currently located only in California and Missouri, USA). With the hardware module plugged into the bench a technician can extract calibration data from the hardware and begin to troubleshoot and repair the receiver. The aircraft may be deployed anywhere in the world and the hardware must be transported to one of these radar bench locations. It can take as long as 6 weeks for the hardware to reach the bench, be serviced, and returned to the aircraft wherever it is deployed. During the time the radar hardware is removed from the aircraft it is out of service and unable to perform its mission. Long turn around time on aircraft maintenance can severely influence the success or failure of a mission. Accordingly, a need was identified to extract vital diagnostic data from the radar receiver without removal of the hardware and the sidelining of the aircraft.
An attempt was made to extract the radar calibration data from F/A-18's while stationed on a carrier at sea. A PASS 1000 system was installed in a laptop computer. PASS includes a custom computer card which when installed in a computer creates an interface with the 1553 aircraft bus. A custom program was written to extract data over the interface. A program in C++ language was written to extract and view the radar calibration tables while the hardware remained on the aircraft.
During the one year trial of this system the laptop computer suffered multiple failures due to the environment of a military vessel: moisture, seawater, various contaminants such as fuels and explosives, general rough handling by personnel, and impacts/accidents which were unavoidable during missions. Other shortcomings in a laptop based system were identified. For example, while underway on the deck of the USS Nimitz, the laptop computer failed when it's circuit boards shifted. In addition, the hard drive was compromised when the laptop was dropped on the deck. It was proven difficult to ensure the power supply to the laptop due to personnel neglecting to keep the battery charged and the inability to use regular power cords on the vessel's deck during operations. The length of time it took for the laptop to power up, boot up and extract data was unacceptable in the field. Generally laptop computers are too fragile for operation under bad weather conditions and may have electrical sensitivities. In addition, the C++ program was difficult to understand and manipulate by personnel without a background in computers languages or writing software, thus limiting the program's effectiveness to occasions when personnel with the needed background were available to operate the system. The trial also demonstrated the need for an initial power supply unit (PSU) test of the radar hardware in the case that the hardware did not power up properly.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,219,626B1 issued on Apr. 17, 2001 to Steinmetz, et al. describes a tool for a technician to use in troubleshooting systems on aircraft such as the Apache AH6 helicopter that uses software installed on a laptop that extracts data from the aircraft 1553 bus and allows the technician to refer to a Technical Manual at the same time. This tool is not built to withstand the rigors of military locations and environments. It is restricted to use on one aircraft at a time and the aircraft is grounded for the duration of the use of the tool. The tool is for use by skilled repair technicians. Therefore, this tool does not meet the needs demonstrated above.
Accordingly, there is a need to quickly extract data from multiple radar hardwares and perform power diagnostics under adverse conditions by personnel of varying skills, using a portable device, which is robust and is an efficient use of manpower.